It is well know n in the art to pro vide holders for beverages and food items, to pro vide a stable and effective support therefor in an effort to inhibit the beverages and food items from spilling on the surroundings.
Some of these prior art holders for beverages and food items are low cost components of paper or plastic, with such being extensively used by fast food restaurants and the like.
The Murphy Patent No. 2,547,716 entitled "Foldable Vending Tray for Ice Cream Cups and the Like" is illustrative of one of such low cost carriers for food items.
Somewhat similarly, the Walsh Patent No. 3,480,152 entitled "Storage Rack for Vessel Containing Unstable Material" is illustrative of a storage rack serving to stably support items that have a base of such small size as to require support preventing the item from toppling over.
The Hoch Patent No. 3,893,569 entitled "Thermos Support Tray" is illustrative of a support tray attachable in an automobile upon the floor hump, with the tray being shaped to hold one or more thermos jugs. A plurality of posts 14 in the Hoch device provide a desirable amount of separation between the pair of parallel plates that principally constitute the Hoch tray.
None of these patents, nor any other patents of which I am aware, represent a food and/or beverage holder that possesses stable, non-skid properties making it suitable for use on a table or counter that may be located on a vehicle, such as a boat, train or airplane.
Therefore, it is one of the principal goals of my invention to pro vide a food and/or beverage holder of sturdy, attractive appearance, that is entirely suitable for use on a boat, ship or other such conveyance, where non-spill and non-skid characteristics are of great importance.